The Jews said this when they heard the words of Allah, the Most High: "Who is it that will lend Allah a good loan?" They cannot but either say it out of belief in that, or out of mockery of the Qur'an. Whichever it is, the word is great and can only come from those who are rebellious in their disbelief. The meaning of Allah hearing it is that He is not unaware of it, and that He has prepared for it a fitting punishment: "We will write what they said in the records of the guardians." Or we will preserve it and affirm it in Our knowledge, not forgetting it as the written is affirmed. If you say: How did He say: "Indeed, Allah has heard" then said: "We will write"? Why not say: And indeed, We have written? I say: He mentioned the existence of hearing first, confirmed by an oath, then said: We will write in a manner of warning, meaning that it will never escape Us to affirm and record it, just as it will not escape Us to kill their prophets. He made the killing of their prophets a sign that they are equal in severity, and that this is not the first of the great wrongs they have committed, and that they are original in disbelief and have precedents in it. And one who kills the prophets is not far-fetched in daring to make such a statement. It has been narrated that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, wrote with Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, to the Jews of Banu Qaynuqa inviting them to Islam, to establish prayer, to give zakat, and to lend Allah a good loan. [This was narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim through Ibn Ishaq, who reported to me from Muhammad ibn Abi Muhammad from Ikrimah from Ibn Abbas. He mentioned it at length.] Then Finhas the Jew said: "Indeed, Allah is poor when He asked us for a loan." Abu Bakr slapped him in the face and said: "If it were not for the covenant between us and you, I would have struck your neck." He complained to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and denied what he had said, so this verse was revealed. Similar to their saying: "The hand of Allah is tied." And we say to them: "Taste!" And we will take revenge on them by saying to them on the Day of Resurrection: "Taste the punishment of burning, just as you made the Muslims taste bitterness." It is said to the one avenged upon: "Feel, and taste." And Abu Sufyan said to Hamzah, [This was mentioned by Ibn Ishaq in Al-Maghazi: And Al-Jalis ibn Ziyad Al-Kinani, the leader of the Ahabeesh, passed by Abu Sufyan while he was striking Hamzah ibn Abdul Muttalib in the cheek with the tip of his spear and saying: "Taste the punishment."] may Allah be pleased with him: "Taste the punishment." [The phrase: "To Hamzah, may Allah be pleased with him: Taste the punishment" in the authentic reports: means to taste the consequence of your actions, O disobedient one.] And Hamzah read: "It will be written" with the pronoun indicating the passive voice, and he says with the pronoun. And Al-Hasan and Al-A'raj read: "It will be written" with the pronoun indicating the active voice. And Ibn Mas'ud read: "And it is said: Taste that" referring to what has preceded of their punishment and mentioning the hands because most actions are performed with them. Thus, every action is made like the one that occurs with hands as a means of generalization. If you say: Why did He couple His saying: "And indeed, Allah is not unjust to the servants" with "what your hands have sent forth," and how did He make His not being unjust to the servants a partner in their committing sins in deserving punishment? I say: The meaning of His not being unjust to the servants is that He is just to them, and it is just to punish the wrongdoer among them and to reward the doer of good.